9 Million"). .
The media is causing more of the American public to consider plastic surgery to change their physical appearance. So far this season, "Extreme Makeover" is averaging 7.6 million viewers, and MTV's "I Want a Famous Face" has averaged 2.45 million views (Regalado). According to a survey by The Wall Street Journal, in a sampling of 2000 girls with an average age of 15, it was found that 42 percent of girls have considered getting plastic surgery. What could be the catalyst in this large number of young girls wanting to alter their appearance through plastic surgery? The media mainly targets teens and women knowing that "they may not recognize the permanence of what they're doing" ("So You Want a Famous Face"). David Sarwer, a psychologist at the Center for Human Appearances at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, observes that the big problem with adolescents is that they are being operated on at the most tumultuous time in their bodies ("11.9 Million"). Sarwer and other surgeons from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons are concerned that "patients inspired by TV will demand surgery that goes against their doctors' best judgment" (Regalado). Operating on people with unrealistic demands is risky for doctors, because dissatisfied patients are most likely to sue. Even I, when watching the hit show "I Want a Famous Face" on MTV the other day, was amazed at what miracles plastic surgery can perform. I observed in awe as a normal high school student, who was dissatisfied with his facial structure and often was labeled as a "dork" planned a transformation so that he could look like Brad Pitt. The results were daunting: he looked nothing like the intended Brad Pitt! It then occurred to me that all people are different, and may not get the same results. .
People who undergo plastic surgery with unrealistic expectations run the risk of disappointment.